The Six Times She Called Him By His Name
by IvyClare2020
Summary: There are a lot of people who call you by your name, but there is only one person who can make it sound so special. And he liked the way his name formed on her lips, the way it rolled off her tongue. He loved it when she whispered it to him to make sure he was there, heat rising in her cheeks as she said it. She'd only said it six times. He wished she'd said it more.


**So, this was a result of finding a quote about names, and this story idea popped up and it would not get out of my head. The quote was " _T_ _here are a lot of people who call you by your name, but there is only one person who can make it sound so special._ " I don't know who it's from, but I thought it was neat. So, yeah here it goes. **

* * *

Looking back on it, Levi Ackerman realized she'd only said his name six times. She'd addressed him as "captain" and "sir" _._ All of them titles that belonged to her superiors and Levi didn't feel like her superior.

He preferred her calling him by his name over calling him "captain" or "sir". He liked the way his name formed on her lips, the way it rolled off her tongue. He loved it when she whispered it to him to make sure he was there, heat rising in her cheeks as she said it. She'd only said it six times. He wished she'd said it more.

* * *

Tea Time

For a while, he was just "captain". Even after being part of Squad Levi for several months, she couldn't quite bring herself to let the word "Levi" slip from her mouth.

There was something about the way his gray eyes drilled into his soldiers that made her subordinates shrink as he neared. However, Petra found it intriguing.

She'd been bringing him his nightly tea when it happened. She knocked on the door, like usual, and waited for him to speak. Once his approval reached her ears, Petra opened the door, careful not to let it creak. She tiptoed in, and stood there for a moment, seemingly frozen.

He was bent over a pile of papers on his desk, his long fingers flipping through the pages, legs crossed under the desk. Dark bruises circled his eyes, and they reminded Petra that it was nearly midnight.

He looked up abruptly, and Petra almost spilled the steaming tea on her hands. "What do you want?" he growled.

"I brought your tea, sir," Petra answered. He made a gesture to his desk and she set the cup where he'd motioned to.

"You almost spilled it, too," he snorted. He studied her and Petra felt heat rise in her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she replied. He nodded, his head turning back to hid papers. She stayed there for a moment, before she turned to leave. Before she shut the door, she glanced over her shoulders and whispered, "Goodnight, Levi."

Only after she was gone did Levi realize what she'd said.

* * *

Impulse

It had been a fairly uneventful expedition. Except for the few titans they'd encountered when they'd first left the wall, no trouble had really risen.

But no matter how uneventful the expedition had been, he should have been prepared when a titan had leapt from the trees. But even Humanity's Strongest Soldier wasn't always alert. In this case, he'd been looking at Petra Ral, the newest addition to Squad Levi. The girl was innocent, far too innocent to be, in his opinion, a soldier. However, she'd proved him wrong when she'd earned one of the highest kill rates in her class. She was different from the other soldiers, and so Levi had jumped on the opportunity to enlist her in his squad.

He'd been so caught up in his own thoughts that the sight and scream of a giant 16-meter titan took a moment to register with him. It took him longer to process that it was an abnormal.

Just as soon as his mind had processed these facts, the titan had grabbed him. He felt the giant hand close in around his body. His insides compressed as he yelled at his squad below.

"Eld, kill it now!" he screamed. He gritted his teeth as the titan pulled him closer to it's mouth, gagging as the scent of its past kill's innards filled his nose. Abruptly, the titan swayed and its grip on Levi slackened. The raven haired man felt himself hurtling towards the ground as the titan collapsed. The impact of the titan's body meeting the earth knocked the wind out of Levi, leaving him staggering out of the titan's grasp.

"Captain!"

Petra was running towards him, a look of shock written across her face. Crimson stained her formerly white shirt, and blood was splattered across her face. Levi was about to ask her if she was the one to kill it when she threw her arms around him. The blood on her hands stuck to his neck and he cringed. But she continued to hold him, and finally, he allowed himself to wrap his arms around her waist. Her auburn hair smelled like strawberries, and when she released him, she whispered in his ear, "I thought we'd lost you, Levi."

* * *

Stars

It was one of his favorite things to do, stare up at the night sky. He used to do it with Isabel and Farlan, and whenever he did it now, it felt as though knives were being stabbed into his chest. Tonight was no different.

He sat on the ledge of the castle tower, his legs dangling over the side. He stared up at the moon and stars. No matter how many times he did it, Levi knew he'd never get tired of looking at the stars. He sometimes wondered if they were the dead, smiling down from heaven, their happiness being reflected in the lights they gave out. He knew Isabel would be the brightest.

Levi was snapped out of his thought as sounds of footsteps reached his ears. They grew louder and louder…

"Captain?"

Levi froze.

Petra strode in from the entrance to the tower, her head spinning as she looked around at the stars.

"They're beautiful," she murmured. She sat beside him, and Levi felt the urge to move away from her.

"I know," he replied, giving into the urge. Petra didn't seem to notice, though. Her eyes were transfixed on the bright lights above them.

"So, do you come up here a lot?" she asked. He glanced at her, nodding slowly.

"Yes."

Petra grinned. "I can see why."

"I used to come up here with my friends, Farlan and Isabel. It was one of our favorite things to do," Levi whispered. Petra looked at him, her eyes shining.

"Isabel and Farlan? You've never mentioned them before," she frowned. Levi felt a stab in his chest and he answered shortly, "That's because they're dead."

Petra looked away and began to bite her lip. "I'm sorry."

The two sat in silence for a while, staring at the stars.

Levi obsereved her, his mind drifting away. He saw the image of her smile, her hands stirring his tea. Her body glowing with fire as she took down titan after titan with ease. Her laugh. The way she blushed when he said her name. Somehow, in the process of thinking these thoughts, Levi's common sense left him, and he found himself leaning forward with his lips locked with Petra's.

She jumped a little and let out a gasp, but didn't break away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and in turn, he grabbed her waist.

In the silence, he heard Petra murmur, "I love you, Levi."

They sat there, holding each other, for longer than either of them would care to admit.

* * *

Nightmares

After that night, fate decided to take over and Levi found himself unable to avoid her. Gradually, what used to be awkward became easy, and more intimate moments went from a rarity to everyday life. What had started out as a school girl crush developed into something much deeper, something that neither one could possibly explain.

Among the new habits formed was sleeping in the same bed. Now, instead of sleeping in the chair in his office, Levi slept in a bed with Petra, his arms wrapped around her. They shared warmth and oxygen, and Levi had never fallen asleep faster than he had with Petra.

Now, Levi was never one to have recurring nightmares. Ever. Every once in a while, he'd wake up a bit sweaty and shaky, but this was to be expected given his past. But he hadn't had one for a while, so it wasn't something he worried about.

Petra was woken up by the sound of rustling sheets, and she thought perhaps Levi was getting up to go to the restroom or something of the like. She closed her eyes again.

A moan stole her away from her sleep. She sat up, rubbing her bleary eyes. Levi was tossing and moaning, something she'd never seen him do before. She hesitantly reached out her hand and gave his shoulder a shake. He didn't wake. She frowned and bit her lip.

"Captain?" she whispered in his ear. She shook him again, though this time was harder. His eyes shot open, and he let out a cry. He was panting and sweating, and Petra felt unease well up in her belly.

"Captain?" she said tentatively. He sat up, still breathing hard. He turned to face her and grabbed her, enveloping her in his arms. Something on his face made the side of her cheek wet. She swallowed. He was crying.

"It's okay, Levi. I'm right here," she soothed, stroking his hair. He held onto her until morning came.

He never told her what his nightmare was about.

* * *

Rings

It took a while for Levi to finally grasp the fact that he was in love with Petra. She'd grasped it of course. He'd heard her whisper "I love you" in the dead of night. Levi being Levi, he wasn't exactly the romantic type. He knew that Eld had a wife and Gunther a girlfriend, but he wasn't about to go ask them for advice.

But he wanted to do something special for Petra. She deserved it.

So, he set off in the hopes of finding the perfect thing for Petra. Lucky for him, the brats were loud. Especially Eren.

"What should I do, Armin? I really like her…"

"Who, Mikasa? Eren, she's like your sister!" the blonde squeaked. Levi snorted and leaned more heavily on the door.

"Yeah, but we're not technically related…" Eren protested. "Besides, I'm not here to discuss my love life, I just need ideas."

Armin paused, then said, "Well, in a lot of the romance books I read, the boys take their ladies on a fancy dinner date, or even have a candlelight dinner. Of course, most of the time that happens, the guy's proposing to the girl… you are not proposing to Mi-"

Armin was interrupted as the door collapsed and Levi stumbled inside. Armin hid under his covers and Eren's whole body turned bright crimson.

"Sir!" Eren cried. Levi swore under his breath, then dusted himself off.

"You're supposed to be cleaning. This is not cleaning. Get back to work!" he snapped.

The boys both nodded and grabbed the nearest cleaning tool they could find. Levi strode away, smirking.

It took a while to get the candles set up, and several strings of profanities were released that night as the wind blew out the candles. But Levi was determined to have this dinner in the place where they'd had their first kiss.

Finally, after many hours of struggling, Levi finished setting up the dinner. All that was left was the ring.

He'd had it for a while. He'd taken it from his mother's home when Kenny had taken his and he'd had it ever since. It was small and dainty, nothing fancy.

When the time came, he led her upstairs. She'd giggled as he warned her to cover her eyes. When they reached the top of the stairs, Levi smiled as he whispered, "Open them."

Petra gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "It's beautiful. How did you do it?"

Levi smirked. "I had help."

Petra laughed, and they settled on the blanket. After eating and talking for a while, Levi decided it was time. The moon and stars were shining brightly, as if urging him to go on. He cleared his throat and bent on one knee.

"Petra Ral," he whispered. Petra paled, and her eyes started to fill with water. "Petra Ral, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

He waited for what felt like an eternity before she whispered, "Yes, Levi."

He stood and slipped the ring on her finger, grinning. "I love you," she smiled. They kissed, and fell asleep under a blanket of stars.

* * *

The Last Time

They were dead. Eld and Gunther. In her blurry mind, she went through all the laughs, the good memories she had of them. Her eyes blurred, and she didn't register Oulo calling her name as she skidded near the ground. The bounds of the Female Titan shook the ground. She glanced at her ring, the gold band around her left finger, and a single tear fell down her cheek. _I love you,_ she thought. A shadow came over her body as she neared a tree and she felt her body collide with it. She wanted to scream, but her breath left her body as she whispered, "Levi."

* * *

He watched her body fall, as if from the heavens, and he felt his chest constrict. He shattered.

The gold band he'd slipped off her finger was still in his pocket, and he wondered if she knew how much he loved her. If she knew that he would die a thousand times over just to see her live one more day. He wondered if she knew how much he'd loved saying her name. He wished he'd said her name more, he wished he'd loved her more. Most of all, he wished she'd said his name more. After all, there are a lot of people who call you by your name, but there is only one person who can make it sound so special.

* * *

 **So there you have it. Now I can fall asleep! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Please review. Even a simple review means a lot! Also, please notify me of any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

 **Love,**

 **Ivy**


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